


He was a Punk, She did Ballet

by rangikulovesyou



Category: Bleach
Genre: AU, F/M, Piercings, They rescue a kitten, not really intense descriptions of piercings but they're mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26642017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangikulovesyou/pseuds/rangikulovesyou
Summary: Izuru works at Hot Topic. (So does Shuhei.) Momo works at the Claire's next door. (So does Rangiku.)Funny but mindless KiraHina fluff. (Possibly an early 2000s tribute?) Originally a oneshot but I'm slowly expanding it.
Relationships: Hinamori Momo/Kira Izuru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Coming Out of My Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to Mina for joining me in the KiraHina brainrot and encouraging this, and to Jay for the title (which is from an Avril Lavigne song!)
> 
> This started out as a one-shot and has now turned into a big, beautiful early 2000s tribute of sorts. It is sweet, funny, and (eventually) a tiny bit angsty. I have never written such a long fluff fic before. It's giving me cavities. But I love it!

It had only been three weeks since Izuru had started working at Hot Topic, and he was already bored. The teenagers who came into the store all either loved him, hated him, or just ignored him. Most of them fell into that third category, but there was a certain subset of teenage girls with pink hair that always looked at him in an overly-fond way that made him uncomfortable.

During his eleventh day of work, he went to the food court for lunch instead of eating a packed lunch. The brightly-lit Claire’s between his store and the food court seemed to overflow with little pre-teen girls that day, and he noticed a bright purple sale sign hanging in one of the windows.

“Okay, look right here for me, and tell me about your favorite ice cream!”

The lilting voice that reached his ears made him want to obey without question. He jerked his head to the right and saw a petite, dark-haired woman leaning toward a small girl on a chair. In the woman’s hand was a white ear-piercing gun - the kind that Izuru heard wasn’t optimal for safety, but was still common in cheap piercing shops.

The little girl on the chair glanced nervously at the gun, but began mumbling: “I like chocolate chip cookie dough… But I also like--”

There was a dull _click_ barely audible over the roar of the other other customers, and the little girl’s eyes screwed shut. The woman pulled the piercing gun away and dabbed at the girl’s ear with a cotton ball. “Okay, good! And tell me what else you like!” she said quickly as she prepared the other ear.

“Owww…” The little girl’s eyes welled up with bright, twinkling tears. “I like… I like mint chocolate chip too. And the kind with caramel in it.”

“Me too! And do you like cotton candy flavor?” The woman reached for a fresh piercing gun, and Izuru caught a glimpse of the nametag - _Momo._ What a cute name, he thought as she straightened up and reached for the girl’s other ear.

“Yeah, sometimes,” the little girl said, her voice growing weak.

 _Click._ Momo deftly pressed another cotton ball to the girl’s ear. “There, all finished!” she said, a smile sweeping across her face. “You did amazing! See, that wasn’t so bad!”

Izuru finally realized he had stopped and stared at them for a solid minute. He whipped his gaze away and started walking again, trying to ignore the unfamiliar, heavy feeling growing in his chest. There was a dull heat building under the heavy black hoodie he was wearing, causing sweat to surface just above his collarbones.

That was the most interesting moment he’d had in weeks, he thought as he rummaged in his pocket for his wallet. No one else in the mall had seemed that nice.

\----------------------------------------------------------

When he got back from lunch break, Izuru found his coworker Shuhei half-asleep behind the counter. “Slow today, huh?” Izuru murmured. "Did some of the schools go back early or something?"

“It's because they’re all over at Spencer’s for that big-ass sale.” Shuhei rolled his eyes. “Kids shouldn’t even be in there. And yet…”

Izuru smiled, but it faded as he remembered who he had spotted before lunch. “Hey, uh... do you know the dark-haired girl at the Claire’s next door?”

“Dark-haired girl? No.” Shuhei waited a beat before elaborating: “I only know Rangiku.”

“Who’s Rangiku--”

“The hot one.”

Izuru’s brow furrowed. “Well, there’s a dark-haired young woman who’s… uh…”

“Hot?” Shuhei smirked.

“I wasn’t gonna say--”

“The shorter one? The one with a barrette in her hair?”

Izuru nodded sharply. “Yeah. And she pierces ears, and is really nice to the kids who come in.”

“I dunno her. But I know who you’re talking about.”

“Her nametag says Momo.”

“Why were you looking that closely?”

“I was just curious because we work right next door and I figured we’d cross paths eventually--”

“Not a chance.” Shuhei shook his head, but his expression was level. “I’ve been here two years and still haven’t gotten to talk to Rangiku.”

That contradicted his previous claim of _knowing_ her, but Izuru didn't ask for clarification. Instead, he bit his lip as he pondered his options. It was weird and potentially annoying to try to talk to a girl too much while she was working, especially considering how hellish retail could be. He didn’t have to talk to her a lot, though - just introduce himself, make a little small talk, and brighten her day by being a good customer. And then if she wanted to say hi to him when they spotted each other, then maybe things could evolve organically.

He had no idea how else to go about doing things. He’d heard Shuhei talk about his exploits trying to get women to notice him, but that only taught him how _not_ to do things.

“Well, I’m off at 4 tomorrow too, and I’ve been thinking about getting my ears pierced anyway,” Izuru said with a nonchalant shrug. “That’ll be a good conversation starter--”

“Nah, man, those cheap piercing guns and cheap earrings are a one-way ticket to pain and misery.” Shuhei leaned closer and pointed to the three cartilage piercings and single lobe piercing in his right ear. “I got these done by a pro, and they still struggled to heal properly. You gotta be real careful.”

Izuru gulped. “Well… worst-case scenario, I end up having to go to the doctor for some antibiotics, right?”

“Do you even have health insurance?”

“Only the bare minimum, since I'm working 29 hours a week and have to buy my own.” Izuru sighed and glanced at the schedule posted on the wall. “It’ll be fine. She looks like she knows what she’s doing.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Izuru told everyone he knew that he was going to go get his ears pierced after work the next day. It was the only way to keep himself from chickening out.

When he clocked out at Hot Topic, he strolled over to Claire’s and looked through the window. The place was mostly deserted, with just a few grumpy-looking pre-teens in the back corner of the store. He spotted Momo near the front tidying up a rack of nail polishes, and he smiled as he realized that though their stores were very different, their lives were pretty similar.

He cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets just before entering the store. Momo looked up, and the way her eyebrows arched showed that she was not expecting a tall, blonde 19-year-old in black skinny jeans and a Black Sabbath hoodie.

“Hi! Can I help you?” she said as she straightened up.

“Uh, hi,” he said, pulling one hand out to wave casually. “Can I get my earlobes pierced?”

“Oh!” She nodded twice. He could tell by her wide eyes that she hadn’t even thought he was a customer. “Yeah, um, do you have a driver’s license?”

“Um… yeah.” He blinked. “Sorry… is there an age limit?”

“You just have to be over 18 to get a piercing without a parent’s permission.” She waved a hand and smiled. “You definitely look over 18! I’m just required to double-check.”

“Oh!” He blushed as he fumbled for his wallet. “I thought you might be talking about, like, an upper age limit or something. Like maybe you were only for _kids_ \--”

He heard a giggle across the store, and he looked up to see a tall, busty woman with honey-blond hair watching him from behind a rack full of bracelets. “I think you’re the oldest person we’ve had in a few weeks, though,” the woman said, her smile widening into a smirk. “Anyway, haven’t I seen you before?”

“I started working next door a few weeks ago,” he murmured.

“Oh. At Hot Topic, right?” The woman’s nose crinkled. “You work at Hot Topic, but you don’t have your ears pierced?”

“Well, he still looks the part!” Momo said, her voice growing firm. “I mean, his hair is cool!”

Izuru’s eyes widened, and Momo froze, her fingers twitching as they reached for his license.

“Anyway, don’t worry! I know she looks like she’s still in high school, but she’s 19!” The woman at the back of the store grinned. “You gotta be 18 in order to do the piercings!”

“Thanks for clarifying,” Izuru mumbled.

“You can ignore Rangiku over there,” Momo said loudly, handing his license back to him with a sharp snap of her wrist.

So _that_ was Rangiku, Izuru thought, making a mental note. She was definitely attractive, but she would probably walk all over Shuhei.

Momo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she thrust a clipboard at him. “Anyway, read these waivers and sign this. Did you pick out what you want your first pair to be yet? You have to keep them in for six weeks, so choose wisely.”

He considered asking her which pair she thought would look cool, but most of the options were too gaudy for him. He didn’t want to risk her choosing something he couldn’t live with for six weeks - or, worse, that Shuhei or another colleague would make fun of.

So he pointed to a plain black pair of studs on the display board, and she grabbed a fresh pair from a cabinet by the wall. She nearly dropped the tiny box they were in when she tried to open it. He suddenly wasn’t sure he trusted her to do the piercing quite right, but it was too late to back out now.

“You can sit in the chair by the window,” she said, motioning to the bright white chair he’d seen a small girl in the previous day. “Although I might have to adjust the height…”

Four more pre-teen girls entered the store, and their voices only made him more nervous as he sat in the chair and completed the paperwork. Momo greeted them with a smile and returned her attention to him, her brown eyes flicking back and forth as she compared his earlobes.

She smelled faintly of _warm vanilla brown sugar,_ or something like that. Izuru only knew that because half the scene girls who came into Hot Topic apparently wore it; Shuhei had commented on it one time after a gaggle of highly-perfumed girls with pink hair had left the store.

Was Momo a scene kid? Nah, he told himself, her lacy barrette and belted maroon dress told him otherwise. She wasn’t goth or preppy, either, or a sporty girl, or any of the other stereotypes that had floated around when he was in high school. Maybe she was just _her,_ and judging by the smile that tugged her peach-pink lips upward, she was just fine with that.

He wondered if she’d actually thought his hair was cool, or if she was just being polite. His hair _was_ a little dramatic. Even Shuhei had said so on the first day they met.

Momo dabbed at his ear with a cotton ball, then made a final adjustment to the piercing gun. “Okay. You ready?

He fought the urge to nod. “Yeah.”

She lined up the gun against his right ear. “Just relax, and tell me how you like working at Hot Topic!”

“Uh, it’s nice. I get a nice employee discount, but I haven't used it much yet. My coworkers sometimes make fun of my--” He gasped as the needle pierced his ear with a loud _click._ “Okay, that hurt!”

Momo’s eyes shot wide. “Sorry! Did it hurt that bad?”

He felt like a fish out of water gasping for breath as he saw her bite her lip. “No, it just surprised me,” he mumbled. “Ow. No wonder not everyone does this.”

She smiled and ducked her head as she put the first piercing gun away. “I mean, I kinda reacted the same way when I got mine pierced,” she said, motioning to the thin gold strands dangling from her ears. “It’s definitely more pain than most people are used to.”

Before he could fully process how his ear felt, she began dabbing at it with a cotton ball. He tried to ignore how close she was, and how he could once again catch a faint whiff of warm vanilla brown sugar mixed with the chemical smell of whatever was on the cotton ball. There was a dull heat building under his hoodie again, just like he had felt the previous day.

She glanced over to his face, and their eyes met. She fumbled with the cotton ball before throwing it away and readying the second piercing gun. “Ready?” she said as she lined it up on his left ear. “Tell me about your coworkers!”

“Well, they're mostly fine. The one in there today is this guy named-- _Ow,_ ” he hissed, clenching his teeth.

She pulled the gun away and dabbed at the ear with a fresh cotton ball. “And you’re done!” she said cheerfully.

Her breath danced over his cheek. He glanced away, determined not to make eye contact again as his face grew warm. “That didn’t even hurt as bad as I thought it would.”

“Really? That’s good!”

A shadow swept over Momo’s shoulder, and suddenly, Rangiku was directly in front of him. “Momo, are you sure you did that right?” Rangiku said, leaning closer. “His ears are, like, really red. The reddest ears I’ve ever seen--”

“Don’t doubt my capabilities!” Momo leaned sideways to look directly at his face. “Oh my god, you’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“Huh-- oh, no,” he said, laughing nervously. “I’m not, don’t worry--”

“You read the allergy information, right?”

“Yeah, I did! It’s just - it’s warm in here!”

Rangiku giggled and walked away. Momo looked petrified, as if she had suddenly walked into a math exam she had forgotten about.

“Well, those definitely look cool,” she said as she busied herself with dabbing his ear again. Her cheeks turned a distinct reddish-pink, although he wasn’t sure if it was from Rangiku’s words or from something else.

Wait - she had just said he looked cool. _Again._

Surely there was something going on. He needed to consult with Shuhei - although Shuhei’s advice was about as good as that of an eighth-grade boy, really.

The pre-teen girls were hovering by the necklace display nearby, glancing at him and whispering to each other. Momo glanced at them, glanced at the floor, and tucked her hair behind her ear again. “Anyway, Rangiku’s on register, so she’ll check you out!” she said.

Izuru’s stomach lurched. “Check… huh?”

“She’ll--” Momo swallowed hard and glanced away again. “She’ll get you the gift bag with the cleaning stuff in it and you can check out!”

“Oh.” _Check. Out._ He mentally kicked himself and forced himself to nod.

“Momo, I forgot to grab a new box of the rubber bracelets from the back! Can you do that?” Rangiku called cheerfully.

Momo scurried away, and Izuru walked up to the cash register, debit card in hand. Rangiku set a purple plastic bag on the counter. “The bottle is the solution for cleaning your ears, and there’s about three pages of follow-up care instructions and information about skin allergies,” she said, tilting her head. “If you clean and rotate the piercings twice daily, you should be able to swap them out with new earrings in about six weeks! Your total today is $25.92.”

She had her check-out speech down to a science, Izuru thought as he handed her the debit card. “By the way, I’ve been telling Momo to get a belly button piercing,” Rangiku said, her eyes narrowing. “What do you think?”

“Uh--” Izuru jerked his head side to side, but then blurted: “I dunno! I just met her!”

Rangiku swiped his credit card and thrust it back toward him. “She works Mondays through Thursdays right now, but she’ll be working more hours closer to the holidays, of course.”

“That’s… nice,” Izuru mumbled. She worked a similar schedule to him, but he wasn’t about to tell Rangiku that.

He signed the receipt and took the bag of cleaning products. Momo reemerged from the back room and shuffled over with a box in her hands as soon as she spotted him. “Thanks for coming in!” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Come in anytime with questions or to buy another pair!”

“Yeah, I definitely will.” He tried to smile, but he was too nervous for it to feel genuine. She glanced away, and he blurted: “I work Tuesdays through Fridays and I usually get done at 4. I’ll see you around.”

“Oh, great! I get done at 6, usually!” She smiled. “I don’t know what kinda clothes you have in there, but I’ll drop by!”

“Uh…” He blinked. Had she never been in a Hot Topic before? “Great! Yeah, come see us!”

Behind her, he could see Rangiku snickering, and he ducked out of the store without another word. He tiptoed past a group of black-haired boys carrying skateboards inside Hot Topic and found Shuhei straightening up t-shirts near the checkout counter.

“Why are you here?” Shuhei whispered. “You’re done with your shift, right?”

“Rangiku scares me,” Izuru mumbled.

“So? You were there for the other girl!”

Izuru rubbed his temples, and Shuhei grinned at him. “So how’d it go?” Shuhei added.

“She said my hair was cool.”

Shuhei leaned closer, a panic-stricken expression spreading over his face. “Rangiku did?”

“No - no, _Momo_ did!” Izuru hissed before glancing over his shoulder. He knew there was no way either one of the women would have followed him, but he couldn’t help but feel a creeping, nagging unease.

Shuhei squinted at Izuru’s ears. “Well, she did an okay job on the piercings, too. Your ears are really red, though.”

“I know,” Izuru muttered. “Believe me, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title brought to you by "Mr. Brightside," which came out in 2004, making it the perfect song to to make a silly, cheeky reference to. I'm not sorry.


	2. Surprises Let Me Know She Cares

Izuru’s ears hurt, but not as badly as he expected. The next time he was at work, his manager Byakuya didn’t say anything about the earrings, but everyone else did. Uryu said they looked “alright” when they worked together the next day, Soi Fon made a face of pure shock and said “finally!”, and when Nemu came in at the end of Izuru’s shift, she said they looked “nice.”

His first day at work the next week was a busy afternoon for them, and he was constantly answering questions and running around the store to tidy up. When a group of loud teenage boys finally left, leaving the store empty, he had to fight the urge to rest his head on the counter and shut his eyes for a few seconds.

Then he caught a glimpse of long, pale honey hair and a low-cut white t-shirt walking toward the counter. He jerked his eyes upward. Rangiku was striding toward him with a grin on her face that looked sharp enough to chop his bangs off.

“Hi!” she said cheerfully, waving a small piece of paper over her head. “I think you dropped this the other day!”

He frowned. It had been a full four days since he had been in their store, and he wasn’t sure why she had just come by and left it with Byakuya or another employee earlier. “I did?” he murmured as she thrust the paper at him.

“Yeah!” She winked, and his heart sank. “You’re welcome!”

He heard Shuhei shuffle out from behind a nearby shelf. “Welcome!” Shuhei said loudly. “Can I help you find anything?”

“Oh, I’ve seen you before too!” She grinned and waved. “I’m Rangiku. I work next door.”

“I know,” Shuhei said.

Izuru fought the urge to cringe. “Thanks for your help,” he said as he glanced down at the paper. “I didn’t--”

The words died in his throat when he saw a phone number written on the paper. He turned it over to see a receipt for body glitter, charm bracelets, and a pack of bobby pins - certainly not _his_ purchase.

He looked back up to see Shuhei trying to show off their new selection of heavily-studded miniskirts. Rangiku was feigning interest, but she kept glancing back at Izuru before excusing herself to go back to work.

Izuru didn’t have time to investigate further until he’d finished work, gone home and eaten dinner. When he pulled the piece of paper out again, he realized it had to be one of two things: Rangiku’s number, or Momo’s. There was no way to know for sure until he tried, and it was about to be _really_ awkward either way.

He considered texting, but didn’t want to be a bother to them if they didn't have texting. Besides, if it was Momo, he wanted a chance to make a good first impression.

He took a deep breath and dialed the number, feeling his heart thud against his chest with each passing second. Just as he thought it was about to go to voicemail, a voice answered: “Hello?”

It took him less than a split second to recognize the voice. “Momo?”

There was a pause. “Hi! Who is this?”

“Sorry!” Izuru blurted. “It’s Izuru from Hot Topic - I got my ears pierced the other day.”

Another pause. “Oh!” Momo’s voice had increased in pitch. “Hi!”

“Rangiku gave me this number on a piece of paper and said I dropped it in the store the other day,” he continued. “Which I know isn't true, but anyway, I dunno why she gave me this--”

“Yeah, I dunno either!” Her voice still sounded strained. “Well, uh, thanks for calling, anyway.”

“Yeah, no problem!” He bit his lip as he rummaged around in his brain for words. He had no idea how to make conversation, and he wished desperately he had planned better before calling. “What are you up to tonight?”

“I’m on my way to buy stuff for this semester, and I gotta hurry before the store closes, so…” She trailed off, and he thought he could hear the low growl of a city bus in the background.

“Oh, gotcha! Sorry to bother you.”

“No, it’s no problem! Not at all.” He heard the familiar ding of a monthly pass being swiped inside a bus. 

“Anyway, uh, call anytime you need anything.” There was another awkward silence. “Nice talking to you.”

“Thanks! 

“Bye.”

“Bye!”

He snapped the flip phone shut and tossed it onto his bed. Smooth move.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

He didn’t even catch a glimpse of her the next day, thanks to the overload of stocking and random cleaning that needed to be done. Shuhei had called off sick, leaving just Izuru, Byakuya, and a new girl named Lisa who kept saying she’d rather be working at Spencer’s.

When he got home, he face-planted into his pillow, hoping for a chance to rest his aching shoulders. He was too young to be in that much pain. Retail really was hell.

He didn’t even realize he’d fallen asleep until his phone vibrated on the nightstand, jerking him out of a blurry dream of boxes and cranky teenage customers. He fumbled with it for a few seconds before flipping it open. “Hello?” he mumbled, nearly eating his pillow as he tried to talk.

“Hi, Izuru?” It was Momo’s voice, but it was high-pitched and thin. “I am so sorry to bother you! Did you leave yet? Are you nearby?”

He sat upright. “I already left, but what’s up?

“Sorry - I called Rangiku, but she’s still working, and so is my manager, and my grandmother’s really allergic to cats--” There was a soft squeaking noise in the background. “Someone dropped off this kitten in the mall parking lot! They just dropped it out of a moving car!”

“I-- they what?”

“They literally opened the side door and drove off, and I have to take the bus home, and I can’t take the bus home with the cat anyway, and the bus will be here any minute-- ow!” She paused and mumbled something incoherent, followed by: “It has claws! Anyway, do you know anyone who can take this little guy in the next five minutes before the bus comes? I’ve asked some strangers but--”

“Momo, it’s okay,” he said gently as he swung his legs out of bed. “I’ll come get you.”

There was a pause. “Huh?”

“I’ll come get you! I - I can give you a ride home, and I guess I can take the kitten for tonight, at least.” That was a lie, and he knew it - he shared an apartment with another college student, and their lease technically didn’t allow cats. Renji wasn’t exactly a stringent rule-follower, though, so Izuru knew he could make him look the other way.

“Thank you! Everyone else I know either hates cats or just can’t take it, and I just transferred here--” Momo sighed. “Sorry for rambling! I just don’t know what to do!”

He felt a warm, melting sensation - almost like butter or something - sink into his heart. It was unfamiliar, fleeting, and more than a little weird. “I only live about a ten minute drive away, so I’ll be there soon. You’ll probably miss your bus, but I’ll just drive you home,” he said. “Are you by the entrance closest to where we work?”

“Yes! Thank you!”

When he hung up, he felt both concern and happiness wash over him. The happiness at getting to see her slightly outweighed the concern for the fact that he was about to temporarily adopt a cat.

He pushed the worry aside and rushed to his car, a 12-year-old gray Honda Civic with a scratch on the driver’s side. When he pulled into the mall parking lot, he managed to pull up where Momo was standing without letting her see the driver’s side.

When she opened the door and climbed in, he looked around for the kitten before realizing she had put it inside her zip-up hoodie. “Thanks again for helping us!” she said as a small, gray head appeared beneath her chin.

 _Us._ The way she had referred to herself and the cat was adorable enough to make him smile despite his exhaustion. He smiled down at the kitten’s face before looking up to meet Momo’s brown eyes. “No problem,” he said weakly. “It’s really nice of you to try to help it. I can't believe someone would--”

A car honked behind them, and Izuru realized he was blocking traffic in front of the entrance. “Oops,” he said, tapping the gas, “hang on a minute.”

“Sorry again,” she mumbled. “I live behind the Walmart by the highway, and traffic is a pain at this hour.”

“It’s fine, really.” As they reached the stoplight at the edge of the parking lot, he added: “Sorry again about calling randomly last night.”

“Well, that ended up being helpful! Now you’re helping me save the kitten!” She laughed, but it was strained. “And, uh, I didn’t even mind it in the first place--”

The kitten in her jacket mewled, and Momo made a few cooing noises back at it. “Oof, this one’s got some sharp claws,” she said, flinching.

“You don’t have to keep him all cooped up. I’m not worried about fur or anything.”

“But he was so cold when I found him. It never got that warm today because of the rain earlier.”

The weird, buttery feeling was back. He cast a sideways glance at her again before returning his gaze to the road leading to the highway.

“Let’s name it something,” she said suddenly.

She had said _“let’s”_ as if she wanted them to think of a name together. He lost his concentration for a second and had to brake hard for a red light. “Uh,” he blurted once the car had actually stopped, “like what?”

“Let’s name it… Baby!”

Her expression was happy but resolute as she gazed down at the kitten, and he knew she was serious. “Baby?” he mumbled.

She looked over at him, eyes widening. He yanked his eyes back to stare at the red light glaring down at them. “That’s a good name, I guess!” he continued. “But what about when it gets older?”

“You can still call a pet ‘Baby’ when they’re an adult if you really love them!”

Just like with humans, he thought as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. When the light turned green again, she started giving him directions to her house, interspersed with more thanks and apologies for both the ride home and the cat-sitting. He was starting to run out of unique ways to reply to each one, and was just repeating “really, it’s no problem” after each one.

She really was kind, he thought as he glanced over at her soft smile again. He’d been able to tell that when she was piercing the little girl’s ears the previous week, but this was even more undeniable.

“It’s that little white house right there,” she said, pointing after they had wound through several residential streets. “Thanks again!”

“Is this--” He glanced over his shoulder. “What route do you even take to get here?”

“The 21,” she said. “It’s a bit of a walk from the bus stop, I know. And getting to campus from here is a pain, too.”

He couldn’t hide his frown. She didn’t live in the worst part of town, but it wasn’t ideal for walking alone in after dark. Once the days grew shorter, she would probably be arriving home well after dark.

But it was too soon for him to be worrying about her, he told himself as she opened the passenger door. “Let me know how Baby does!” she said as she handed him the kitten. “I’ll be in touch if I find someone else interested in adopting it!”

The gray bundle of fur yowled as soon as he set it on his lap. He suddenly wondered how the hell he was going to get it to sit still for the drive home.

When Momo climbed out and closed her door, she stood in her driveway beaming and waving at him until he pulled away. The shy yet heartfelt look in her eyes made him not want to leave, but a sharp claw sinking into his thigh jerked him back to reality.

“Alright, fine,” he muttered to the cat as it climbed up his hoodie to his shoulder. “Just please don’t get under the pedals, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many of y'all are old enough to remember the days when some people just didn't text because they didn't have a texting plan?
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading this far! This chapter title brought to you by "All The Small Things" by blink-182.... wow, that's a throwback, and I feel old now.


	3. Don't Go Too Deep With it, Baby

Momo nearly dropped her flip phone as she jogged up the street toward the bus stop. She had to squint to read the tiny screen, and she nearly accidentally called “Grandma” since it was the entry right next to “Izuru.” When she was sure she had pressed the right button, she pressed the phone to her ear and tried to keep her breathing steady as she ran.

After the fourth ring, Izuru’s voice mumbled: “Hello?”

“Hi! It’s Momo!” she said. “How’s it going?”

“Good! The kitten got stuck under my bed for a while last night, but he’s fine, now.”

She smiled, but it felt weak. Her heart was pounding mostly due to the running, but she knew part of it was due to the stress she felt at having to string words together that were charming, cute, and normal enough to _not_ be awkward all at the same time.

“That’s good! Thanks again for helping!” She squeaked as she stumbled over an uneven bit of pavement. “Do you live near campus?”

“Yeah, 16th and Walnut.”

“Oh! So the bus goes right by there--” She paused, not wanting to intrude but also unsure of how else to proceed. “Could I… maybe come see the baby before I have to meet with my professor? It’ll be quick, I promise!”

He mumbled “the baby?” under his breath before adding: “Of course. Come over whenever!”

There was a short, high yowling sound on the other end. Momo cooed and asked: “Is that Baby?”

“Yeah. Pretty loud, huh?”

“And energetic! I'm about to catch my bus, so what’s your address?”

“1601 Walnut, second floor.”

“Thanks! See you soon!”

Just as planned, she thought cheerfully as she rounded the corner and found the bus about to reach her stop. She could pop in for 15 minutes, make small talk, play with the cat,

When she finally arrived outside his apartment door, she took a moment to fiddle with her hair and catch her breath. The last thing she needed was to look like a freshman late to her first day of class.

She thought she heard a thin, muffled meow on the other side of the door. She cleared her throat and knocked, and a few seconds later, Izuru opened the door with the kitten in the front of his black hoodie. “Hi,” he said, his voice quiet and hesitant. “Come on in.”

“Sorry to show up so randomly!” Momo stepped inside, but didn’t take her eyes from him as she fumbled with her shoes. His hair wasn’t quite gelled into its usual shape, and his bangs looked much softer than they had before. The earrings she had placed in his ears twinkled in the midmorning light streaming through the windows.

They actually looked really good on him, she thought as she averted her gaze. “Um, I brought some homemade cat food! Apparently Grandma used to make some for the neighborhood cats years ago, so we took some of our leftovers and made it,” she said as she pulled a plastic container from her backpack. “It’s just super-pureed chicken and rice and a little veggies.”

As if on cue, the kitten screeched and tried to climb out of the neck of Izuru’s hoodie. “Thanks! I got some basics last night, but more food definitely helps,” he said as he tried to wrangle the kitten out safely. “Jeez, this guy definitely wanted to cuddle this morning after he ate, but he’s definitely a bundle of energy.”

The kitten batted at Izuru’s bangs. He froze, and Momo burst into giggles. “It’s so cute,” she cooed.

“Yeah, but I hope he doesn’t go for the earrings next.” He carried the kitten over to the cluttered living room, where the only furniture was a worn leather couch. He set the kitten on the floor and took the kitten food from Momo. “I’ll put this in the fridge and try it with him later,” he added as he smiled at her. “Thanks again.”

“Him?” She tilted her head. “You keep saying ‘he’ and ‘him,’ Do you think it’s a boy?”

“Uh… I dunno how to check!”

Momo bit her lip and glanced at the floor. She had a vague idea of how to check, but she didn’t want to launch an investigation of such things right in front of him.

There was a click and a soft creak of a door to Momo’s right, and a tall, red-haired man with black tattoos strode through. The sharply-angled tattoos were so unusual that it took her a minute to react to the fact that they most of them were only visible because the man was only wearing a towel around his waist. “Iz! You know where I left my work shirt?” the man said gruffly.

Momo’s eyes dropped to the towel before she whipped her head away to stare toward the kitchen. Izuru mumbled something, but the man added: “Oh, shit! Sorry! You didn’t tell me you were bringing anybody over!”

“Sorry to bother you!” Momo mumbled.

“Nah, it’s fine!” The door slammed shut, but there was a faint chuckle on the other side of it.

Izuru sighed and stood up. “I’ll grab his stupid shirt for him,” he mumbled. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine!” Momo said, waving a hand. She distracted herself by kneeling and petting the kitten, who had made a beeline for a ponytail holder on the floor by the couch.

He grabbed a folded shirt from the back of the couch, knocked on the door the man had come from, and threw it through after opening it a few inches. There was another chuckle and a comment Momo couldn’t make out, but Izuru slammed the door shut again before Momo could say anything.

“That’s Renji’s room,” Izuru said, avoiding her gaze as the blush on his face grew redder. “He’s not a bad guy to share a place with, and he’s tolerating the kitten.”

“Tolerating?”

“He doesn’t really have any kind of soft spot for small animals.”

She smiled. “Well, I’m glad you do!”

He seemed to freeze for a moment, with only his eyes moving as they darted from her to the kitten to the kitchen. The spell was broken when the kitten mewled loudly before charging at his ankles.

“Ow--” He bent down to pick the kitten up, but before he could, the kitten latched its claws into his sweatpants and began to climb. “Ow! I told you, those claws hurt!”

There was a hint of laughter in his voice, though. She fidgeted as she noticed a warm, unfamiliar feeling building in her chest. “I’m so glad you were willing to take him,” she murmured. “I promise, as soon as I can get my own place…”

She trailed off as she noticed his blue eyes watching her with a pained expression. “You don’t have to keep thanking me,” he said softly. “It’s an abandoned, lonely kitten. I’m just glad you picked it up.”

He resumed trying to remove the kitten from his pants. When the kitten finally detached with a drawn-out yowl, Momo realized her grin was almost embarrassingly wide. 

“Uh, you wanna hold him?” Izuru murmured.

“Sure thing!” she replied, holding her hands out.

He bent down and gently placed the kitten in her hands. Their fingers brushed, and she wondered if her heart was melting because of the kitten, or because of him.

\----------------------------------------------

She raced out of the apartment a short time later after realizing she would be late for her meeting with her professor. That evening during her shift, she caught a glimpse of him as he was walking past Claire’s toward Hot Topic. He had returned to his usual gelled bangs, but she wondered if she liked it equally either way.

He glanced around her store before waving at her, and she looked over her shoulder for her manager as she stepped over to the front doors. “Thanks again for earlier,” she half-whispered. “Sorry I bothered your roommate.”

“It’s okay, really. He’s a good guy and he normally wouldn’t be bothered at all, if it wasn’t for the towel thing,” he said, glancing away.

She tilted his head. “Were you roommates last year?”

“No.”

“Did you get to live in the dorms? I wish I could've lived there!”

“No, I…” He trailed off. “I lived at home. Which was nice, actually.”

Before she could figure out how to keep the conversation going, she heard her manager’s voice talking to Rangiku somewhere behind her. She turned around halfway, saw his bright yellow hair behind the register, and gave a hurried wave to Izuru before returning to her duties.

Izuru tiptoed away without another word, and she had to stifle a laugh. There was a faint bit of unease in her, though, as she wondered if they would ever make time to talk more as the semester got started.

\-----------------------------------------------------

The teenagers who liked to hang around the store at closing time were loitering longer than usual. Izuru emerged from the backroom with a massive armful of studded belts in hand, hoping they would get the hint and start to leave.

Shuhei bounded over, but instead of helping, he leaned close to Izuru’s ear and hissed: “Rangiku came over and invited me to hang out!”

Izuru forced a smile. “Came over? To your house?”

“No, to the store! She says we’re hanging out next Friday. All four of us.”

Izuru nodded waited for Shuhei to explain. “Uh, who?” Izuru said when the silence had stretched on for several seconds.

“You, me, Rangiku, and that Momo girl!” Shuhei hissed as he hurried back to the register.

“Huh?!” Izuru hurried after, but his stack of belts nudged a small display case full of patches, nearly knocking it over. “Why?!”

“It’s a date!”

“Did she say it was a date? It’s only been a week! It’s too soon for a date!”

Shuhei snorted. “I don't think you know how dating works--”

“Could the two of you keep it down?”

The two whirled around to see their manager watching them from the door to the backroom. Byakuya’s hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, making it even easier to read his annoyed expression. He folded his arms, forming deep wrinkles in the collared shirt he had half-unbuttoned over a Slipknot concert tee.

“Sorry, sir!” Shuhei said.

“Yeah, sorry!” Izuru echoed.

When Byakuya turned his attention to the clearance t-shirts section, Izuru turned back to Shuhei. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, so he started with what seemed like the most urgent question: “What do we do?”

“We go get food somewhere and maybe watch a movie or something. Rangiku said she’d get back to us with plans.”

Izuru bit his lip. “She’s in charge of plans?”

“Yup.”

With a heavy sigh, Izuru set the belts on the counter and rubbed his eyes. “But Momo’s definitely coming?”

“She is.”

“For sure, or did Rangiku just say she is?”

Shuhei rolled his eyes. “You could just text Momo and ask.”

“I dunno if she has texting!”

“Well then call her!” Shuhei hissed, leaning closer. “Come on, man, you gotta go with the flow on this! This is the best way to get close to Momo, and the best way for me to get close to Rangiku! It’s a win-win!”

Izuru stared at the tile floor. The thought of seeing Momo was nice. The thought of seeing Momo on anything resembling a date - especially one with Shuhei and Rangiku breathing down his neck - was more nerve-wracking than his first interview, in which he’d had to wear a tie and a _white_ button-down shirt, of all things.

Then again, Shuhei and Rangiku might end up being so into each other that they would leaving the others alone. Izuru could only hope that they didn’t start making out or something.

He squirmed and shuffled away to distract himself with the wall of T-shirts. “So you’ll go?” Shuhei said.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go! Just tell me when you have details!”

“Rangiku said Momo doesn’t have a car, so you’ll have to give her a ride.”

Izuru froze with his hand on a stack of disheveled t-shirts. “God, you guys are actively conspiring against me, aren’t you?”

“Who says it has anything to do with you? I think Rangiku is just trying to give me more time alone with her.”

Izuru bit his tongue. There was a certain confident edge to Shuhei’s voice that sounded almost _too_ self-assured, but he would never say that aloud.

Then again, maybe he would’ve won over Momo more by now if he’d had that level of confidence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I had a rough idea of where I was going with this, but I finally fleshed out the full approximate plot outline. Now that the semester's almost over I should be able to post a little more often.
> 
> This chapter's title brought to you by "Crush" by Jennifer Paige... because I wanted to do a chapter title based on something Momo would listen to instead of Izuru this time. ;)


	4. His Palms are Sweaty, Knees Weak

“So? Are you ready?”

Momo glanced over her shoulder at the back door before nodding furiously. Rangiku was grinning down at her with twinkling eyes. “And what are you gonna wear?” Rangiku asked, her grin widening further.

“Um--” Momo glanced down at her pink polo shirt and faded bell-bottom jeans. “Probably this?”

“Wrong answer!” Rangiku shook her head so hard her neon pink hoops swung dangerously. “You look nice, but not as cute as you could! I know you have cuter outfits! Dress more like me! See, this red shirt is--”

“But I won’t have time to get changed, really! I’ll barely have time to make dinner for Toshiro before--”

“Did ya finish updating the sale signs on the clearance rack?”

Momo squealed at the sudden sound of her manager’s voice in her ear. “Mr. Hirako!” she said, stepping forward and turning around. “Sir--”

“You only call me Mr. Hirako when you’re worried about something, Momo!” Shinji crossed his arms. “Rangiku, did you check the tags on the earrings section?”

“Was just about to!” Rangiku said, shuffling toward the earrings with her head down.

Momo sighed as she glanced at her glittery pink watch. She had three hours left in her shift.

Her heart seemed to pulse harder for a second before she headed back to the clearance rack. Even if she was tired out by the end of her shift, she’d summon her strength to make a good impression.

\---------

Izuru blew out a breath as he put his car into park next to the driveway. Momo’s house looked even smaller in the darkness, but its front porch light glowed warmly, illuminating the front door clearly. Just as he turned the car off, he saw the door swing open. Momo stepped through, wearing a denim jacket and skirt and waving over her shoulder.

There was a white-haired boy standing at the front door. Even in the dim glow from the porchlight, it was obvious that he was glaring out into the darkness toward Izuru. Izuru knew his seat inside the car was nearly invisible in the low light, but that didn’t stop him from feeling oddly vulnerable.

Izuru jumped when Momo suddenly opened the side door. “Hi! Thanks for picking me up!” she said as she slid into the passenger seat.

He smiled and shrugged, immediately turning his attention back to the steering wheel and gear shifter. “No problem,” he said, ignoring the sweat that had built on his palms. “You excited for dinner?”

It was a silly question. They were just going to the Steak n’ Shake right next to the movie theatre because Rangiku’s friend worked there and would give them a discount. But Momo’s smile was audible in her voice as she said: “Yeah! I like that place! Haven’t been there in a while, though.”

She chatted away, reminiscing about her high school days as he wove through traffic toward their destination. He listened even when he didn’t totally understand what she was saying. Renji had told him that people tended to talk too much if they got nervous on a first date, but being nervous was a good thing, since it meant they actually cared about the date.

Izuru’s nervousness, though, was mostly showing in the sweat that was starting to bead beneath his black button-down shirt. Upon spotting Izuru wearing one of his usual black hoodies, Renji had scolded him, nearly pushing him back into his room to change clothes. The button-down was the nicest thing he owned, but he hadn’t worn it in months, and he had been hoping to never wear it again.

Momo stopped talking as they pulled into the Steak n’ Shake parking lot. “I think that’s Rangiku,” she said, pointing at a honey-blonde woman waving frantically at them.

Izuru swallowed hard. Rangiku was wearing a V-cut red shirt and a tight black skirt. Shuhei stood next to her with what Renji would have called a _shit-eating grin_ on his face. Although he considered Shuhei a friend, Izuru suddenly wondered why the hell he had even agreed to a double date - were they still in high school or something?

Izuru parked, got out, saw he had parked crooked, re-parked, apologized profusely, and then walked with Momo to the front door. “Hey, sorry we’re a little late,” he said, waving at Shuhei.

“Oh, good, you changed!” Rangiku said, bending over to examine Momo’s outfit. “Don’t you look cute!”

She straightened up to raise an eyebrow at Izuru. Izuru glanced at Momo, then glanced at Shuhei, who elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“Ow-- Yeah, you do!” Izuru mumbled as he elbowed Shuhei back.

Momo glanced up at him for a split second before staring at her sequined flats. “Thanks.”

“Let’s eat!” Rangiku said, shoving the door of the restaurant open. 

Izuru tried to hold the door open for Momo, but she slipped through before he could. He and Shuhei exchanged glances, and suddenly, Izuru wondered if he was the only one who felt a little unsure of the whole thing.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be there. He just didn’t have any idea what to do next.

As they settled in at their table, Rangiku took charge of the conversation, inviting the others to weigh in with their favorite movies and music. It felt somewhat forced, Izuru thought, but it at least gave him a chance to learn more about Momo. Their interests generally didn’t overlap until the conversation turned to classes, and Momo said: “Probably my favorite class this semester is my ‘psychology of relationships’ class I’m taking to fill a general education requirement.”

Rangiku leaned forward. “Oh, you’re taking that? Learn anything juicy yet?”

“Um, it just started, like, a week ago, so…” Momo tilted her head. “Not really?”

“What’s the syllabus like? When does it get juicy?”

“I haven’t looked that closely at the syllabus…”

“Momo! Why are you even in that class if you’re not gonna check the syllabus to make sure it actually talks about the good stuff?”

Izuru stared down at his half-eaten plate of fries. Across the booth, he could see Shuhei’s shoulders shaking with laughter, but Momo seemed frozen solid. “I mean, I’m sure all of it’s interesting,” she mumbled as she glanced sideways at Izuru.

Izuru forced a smile. “I’m sure it’ll be great, eventually!”

“Make sure to send us copies of your notes!” Rangiku said, smiling coyly. “All of us!”

“I’ll just bring them to work sometime…” Momo said.

Rangiku launched into an explanation of her psychology class from freshman year, and Izuru slowly relaxed again. As much as he liked getting to hear from Momo occasionally, he half-wished they would hurry up and get to the movie.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time they got to the movie, the action movie they’d planned on seeing was sold out. After some quick negotiations, they decided on a thriller that was within Momo’s acceptable levels of horror and violence. “Horror movies are better for cuddling up, you know,” Rangiku hissed loudly to Momo as the boys bought the tickets.

“I just don’t want him to pay that much to watch a movie I won’t like,” Momo hissed back.

Izuru smiled as he turned around and gave Momo her ticket. “I’m glad we picked one that looks good to you. I don’t like horror that much, anyway.”

Momo’s mouth fell open slightly, but no sound came out for a moment as she turned pink. “If you wanna watch horror, though, we can next time,” she mumbled. “And, um, thanks.”

He felt his own face grow warmer as well as they headed in and picked out their seats. The theater was still mostly empty by the time the movie started, and Izuru began to wonder if the film had flopped.

By the end of the previews, Shuhei and Rangiku were already whispering and giggling to Izuru’s left. It was warm in the theater as it was, and he could feel himself getting even warmer under his shirt. He tried to focus on both the movie and Momo, who was watching the opening scene with rapt attention.

She really was cute, he thought as she leaned forward slightly. He paid as much attention to the movie as he could, not wanting to distract her from her plot, and also hoping he’d come up with some clever observation he could share with her afterward.

Thirty minutes in, just as the suspense was starting, he heard lip smacking noises to his left. He froze, hoping Momo hadn’t noticed them. Shuhei was so goddamn predictable, he thought as he forced himself to keep watching the movie. Sure, they were all adults and making out during a movie was no big deal, but he wasn’t sure Shuhei would stop at just making out.

At least all four of them were sober - or at least, mostly sober. Since Shuhei and Rangiku were 21, it was entirely possible they had snuck in a round of drinks beforehand.

Izuru glanced down at Momo again and noticed she had set her left hand near her knee, perfectly within his reach. He leaned an inch closer and paused, wondering if she would notice, but she seemed oblivious.

A loud scream came out from the speakers as something - Izuru didn’t even know what - happened onscreen. Momo yelped and brought her hands up to her face. Izuru couldn’t help but laugh, though his heart rate had skyrocketed, and Momo glanced up at him and giggled behind her hands. “Sorry,” she whispered, her voice muffled.

“It’s fine,” he whispered back.

Her eyes glowed silver in the light from the screen, and he could see a smile even though her mouth was covered. As she started to lower her hands, he gently caught her left hand in his right. Her smile didn’t fade even as he wove his sweaty fingers between hers.

“Scared me too,” he mumbled.

She squeezed his hand, and it felt like his heart was being squeezed, too. Her gaze flickered down to her lap as she settled back into her previous position, now with their hands 

Step one, complete. He knew his hands would only get sweatier, and there was already a strange itch on the back of his right wrist, but there was no going back now. _You loser, it’s not like this is your first time holding hands,_ he told himself furiously.

He heard Rangiku giggle somewhere to his left, and Momo leaned forward just enough to glance past him before whipping her head back to face the screen again. Izuru didn’t dare turn his head to look at either of them.

The movie’s plot continued with a few suspenseful hacking scenes and a car chase, but Izuru kept feeling his attention shift to the warmth of Momo’s hand between his. The two of them had remained nearly completely unmoving for over a half-hour, and it was somehow starting to feel insincere.

He knew how to hold hands, goddammit. It had just been a while. He ran his thumb over the back of Momo’s, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her head tilt slightly toward his. 

Something pulsed hard in his chest, just for an instant, and he realized he wanted to move faster. It had nothing to do with Shuhei and Rangiku making out next to them. He just wanted to know what Momo would do if he kissed her. It felt like he was reaching a critical dilemma: if he didn’t kiss her soon, it would start to seem like he wasn’t interested, but if he moved too soon, she might be creeped out. 

Dating really was a pain in the ass, but it was worth it for her, he thought as he bit his lip.

An unexpected moaning reached his ears, and he realized the movie had reached the inevitable sex scene. He straightened up, willing himself not to glance over at Momo again. 

_Goddammit. You are 19, Izuru, and so is she. You are adults. It’s only awkward if you make it awkward. Calm down._

He silenced the scolding in his head as he slouched down and staring at his lap. Fortunately, it ended just as abruptly as it had started, and he let his shoulders relax as he resumed stroking Momo’s thumb again.

This was starting to feel like an awkward late-90s romantic comedy, Izuru thought as he glanced over at Momo. She seemed to be enjoying the movie as it returned back to action and suspense, but there was something unnatural about the way her smile stayed stuck in one place, completely unmoving.

The final scene began to move toward its predictable conclusion, and he knew it was his last natural opportunity to kiss her with any semblance of privacy. He glanced to his left, where Shuhei and Rangiku were still making out without a care in the world, even with the armrest between them.

When he looked back down at Momo, she seemed slightly closer than before, but she was still watching the movie. The main character said some banal cliché about stopping evil in the world, and Izuru tuned out the rest, gently squeezing her hand as he leaned closer.

She turned her face upward, and her smile spoke volumes even though she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He wondered if she had been waiting for him to make his move for a while.

He kissed her more gently then he meant to at first, making it more like a graze than a real kiss, but then he pushed a little harder. She tugged his hand closer, but didn’t quite pull it across her for an embrace.

Even so, it felt something like a lightbulb going off in his head - a very bright, very warm lightbulb. It certainly wasn’t his first kiss, but it felt like the first one that actually mattered.

He let it linger until it felt just long enough, then broke it off, letting his lips stay close enough to feel her breath for a second longer. When he opened his eyes, she was watching him from beneath long eyelashes that left her gaze barely visible in the low light.

But then the lights came up as the credits began to roll, and he heard a loud giggle behind him. He grimaced and closed his eyes, but then he felt soft, smooth lips on his again, and he suddenly stopped caring about anything else but her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title (if you didn't recognize it already from memes) is from "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. I cackled to myself when I thought of it.
> 
> Don't worry, this isn't the end - I have more that I'm (slowly) working on!
> 
> If you're not already following me on [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/nanamiism), follow me for fic updates, art, and yelling!


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